Wroe helps Coca-Cola defeat Villa del Lago, named MVP in Polo debut

Wellington's Julio Arellano led all scorers with eight goals

January 8, 2012|By Y.A. Teitelbaum, Special Correspondent

WELLINGTON — Mason Wroe made a good first impression in his high-goal polo debut.

Wroe played stellar defense and was named the MVP after he helped Coca-Cola defeat Villa del Lago 11-7 in the 20-goal Herbie Pennell Cup final Sunday on Piaget Field at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

"We were well-prepared and that makes it easy," said the 26-year-old Wroe, who grew up in Midland, Texas and led Texas A&M to the USPA National Intercollegiate Championship in 2007. "You show up and you know your job, all you have to do is your one-fourth part.

"Today I really wasn't too nervous. There were days leading up I was a little nervous but today not so much. We had a good team meeting yesterday and everything felt good in preparation. I've never done this, played on this field, played this caliber of polo so you just don't know what to expect so you're always leery, so to speak, of the unexpected."

Coca-Cola teammate Julio Arellano, a 9-goaler who has played in major tournaments around the world, was impressed with his young teammate.

"First day out, finals, it's tough on him but he had a great game so we were very happy," said the 39-year-old Arellano, who led all scorers with eight goals. "It's always great to get a win."

Arellano, who lives in Wellington, said he and Coca-Cola patron Gillian Johnston had Wroe in mind for the 20-goal tournaments in 2012 since they played with him in a 14-goal tournament last season.

"They just make it easy to play with, even in practices we had good team chemistry," said Wroe, who began stick-and-balling when he was about eight. "We had a good game plan going into the game."

That plan needed some re-working after Villa del Lago jumped out to 3-0 lead early in the second chukker. But Coca-Cola scored eight consecutive goals, six by Arellano, to take control of the match at halftime.

Arellano said he played "soft" in first chukker and wasn't happy with the performance of his horse.

"I was a little bit out of rhythm that first chukker," said Arellano.

Teammate Sugar Erskine called Wroe's performance "awesome."

"He was obviously a little nervous, understandably," said Erskine, who scored two goals for Coca-Cola. "It was good to see how he handled it."

Eight-goaler Magoo Laprida of Argentina led Villa del Lago with four goals.

The high-goal season kicked off when a pair of skydivers from the Lead Dog Parachute Team landed at midfield.

The club continued its Kids Zone featuring face painting and a petting zoo and spectators were bombarded with confetti as the final horn sounded.

The high-goal polo season continues Thursday with a tripleheader beginning at 10 a.m. in the 13-team Joe Barry Cup.

Valiente I plays Valiente II at 10 a.m. followed by Lucchese against Orchard Hill at 1 p.m. and ending with Alegria against Audi at 3 p.m. The final is scheduled for Sunday, January 29 at 3 p.m.